Cone, beverage cup and similar article holder



CONE, BEVERAGE CUP AND SIMILAR ARTICLE HOLDER Filed March 28, 1962 E. W. COBB July 28, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Edwin W. Cobb INVENTOR.

(Fwy 3M y 1964 E. w. COBB 3,142,425

' CONE, BEVERAGE CUP AND SIMILAR ARTICLE HOLDER Filed March 28, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Edwin W. Cobb INVENTOR.

MM 3m United States Patent 3,142,425 CONE, BEVERAGE CUP AND SIMILAR ARTICLE HOLDER Edwin W. Cobb, 167 Medway St., Providence, RI. Filed Mar. 28, 1962, Ser. No. 183,074 11 Claims. (Cl. 224-48) This invention relates to a novel and useful support for supporting articles to be carried. The support or holder of the instant invention may be readily adapted to carry various types of articles such as containers in which food and drinks are served.

The main object of this invention is to provide a support or holder that may be used in drive-ins and the like for supporting foodstuffs which have been purchased by customers while the customers carry food from the point of purchase to the area where the food is to be consumed.

A further object of this invention is to provide a support or holder for ice cream cones, beverage cups, and similar articles which may be readily formed from a panel of relatively rigid material such as cardboard and the like in order that the holders may be conveniently shipped and stored in a compact state.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a holder in accordance with the preceding objects provided with a hand-grip portion whereby the holder and foodstuffs supported thereby may be easily carried with little danger of the foodstuffs being spilled or falling off the holder.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a holder in accordance with the preceding objects which may be formed from a blank of relatively rigid but somewhat flexible material such as cardboard and the like and which will include a substantially planar table portion upon which to support foodstuffs that may be suitably apertured for the reception of tapered cups and the like and including a hand-grip portion for carrying the planar table portion including portions of the panel from which the holder is formed which are disposed at substantially right-angles to and in edge to surface contacting relation with the undersurface of the table portion of the holder.

. A final object of this invention to be specifically enu merated herein is to provide a holder in accordance with the preceding objects which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that will be eco nomically feasible, long-lasting and relatively troublefree in operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective viewof the holder of the instant invention shown being utilized to support a tapered beverage cup;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the hand-grip portion of the holder with the table portion thereof pivoted up and away from engagement with the portions of the hand-grip portion normally underlying the table portion;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by section line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a bottom plan view of the holder shown with parts thereof being broken away and shown in section;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the blank from which the holder illustrated in FIGURE 1 may be formed;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary enlarged edge elevational view of the blank illustrated in FIGURE 6 and taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 7-7 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the hand-grip portion of the holder showing the manner in which the hand-grip portion may be secured to the center of the table portion; and

FIGURE 9 is a plan view of a blank from which a modified form of holder may be formed, parts thereof being broken away.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings the numeral 10 generally designates the holder of the instant invention. With attention now directed to FIGURE 6 of the drawings, it will be noted that the holder 10 is in the form of a panel generally referred to by the reference numeral 12 which includes a table portion 14 and a hand-grip portion 16. The table portion 14 is generally circular in plan although it is to be understood that other configurations of the table portion may be used. The hand portion 16 includes an elongated panel 18 which is secured at one end to the table portion 14 for swinging movement of the free end of the panel 18 about an axis extending transversely of the end of the panel 18 adjacent the table portion 14.

The panel 18 includes opposite longitudinal side edge portions 20 and 22 and elongated longitudinally extending side tabs 24 and 26 are hingedly secured to the opposite side longitudinal edge portions 28 and 22 of the panel 18. The ends of the side tabs 24 and 26 remote from the free end of the panel 18 are provided with opposite and laterally directed end portions 28 and 30, respectively, which extend away from the panel 18. Each of the end portions 28 and 30 includes one edge 32 which is remote from the free end of the panel 18 and is substantially straight throughout its entire length. However, each of the edges 32 has a locking projection 34 projecting outwardly therefrom.

With attention now directed to FIGURE 7 of the drawings it will be seen that'the side tabs 24 and 26 are formed integrally with the panel 18 and that they are formed by score lines 36 and 38 along which the side tabs 24 and 26 are mounted for swinging movement of their free ends. The panel 18 is similarly defined along its pivotal connection with the table portion 14' and it may be seen that the entire support or holder 10 is formed of a single blank.

If it is desired, the table portion 14 may be provided with a plurality of circumferentially disposed openings 36 and it will be seen that the central portion of the table portion 14 is provided with a pair of generally parallel and laterally spaced slots 38.

In operation, the free end of the panel 18 is first swung downwardly at its free end so as to be disposed below the lower surface 40 of the table portion 14. Then, the side tabs 24 and 26 may be pivoted relative to the panel 18 so as to position the free ends of the end portions 28 and 38 underneath the center portion of the table portion 14. The projections 34 are received through the slots 38 and project above the upper surface 42 of the table portion 14. Accordingly, it may be seen that the side tabs 24 are secured to the table portion 14 against pivotal movement relative to the panel 18. In addition, and with attention now directed to FIGURE 8 of the drawings, it will be seen that the projections 34 each include enlarged outer end portions 46 and relatively narrow inner end portions 48. It is to be understood that the maxirnum width of the outer end portions 46 is slightly greater than the length of the corresponding slot 38 whereby as the projections 34 are received in the slots 38, the enlarged outer end portions of 46 will yieldingly retain the projections 34 against retraction from the slots 38.

With attention now directed to FIGURE 9 of the drawings, there will be seen a modified form of holder which is generally designated by the reference numeral 50 and which is somewhat larger than the holder 10 and is provided with a greater number of openings 52 in the table portion 54 thereof. Otherwise, the holder 50 is formed in a manner substantially identical to the manner in which the holder 10 is formed.

It will be noted that the slots 38 of the holder 10 are spaced a distance apart substantially equal to the distance between the ends of the side tabs 24 and 26 adjacent the table portion 14. In this manner, it will be noted that the end portions 28 and 30, when the holder 10 disposed in an operative position such as that illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 5, are substantially parallel and disposed at substantially right angles to the table portion 14. In addition, it will be noted that the one edges 32 of the end portions 28 and 30 are somewhat greater in length than the radius of the table portion 14 wherein they extend from one peripheral edge portion to the table portion 14 inwardly past the center of the table portion 14. In this manner, considerable support is provided for the table portion 14 and relatively heavy loads may be supported thereby.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

I. A support for supporting articles to be carried, said support comprising a blank having upper and lower surfaces including a supporting table portion and a handle portion, said handle portion comprising an elongated panel hingedly secured at one end to one marginal edge portion of said table portion for swinging movement of the free end of said panel about an axis extending transversely of said one end, at least one elongated longitudinally extending side tab carried by and hingedly secured along one marginal edge portion thereof to one side edge portion of said panel for swinging movement of the free edge of said tab about an axis generally paralleling the longitudinal axis of said panel, the end of said tab adjacent said table portion including a laterally directed end portion extending away from said panel and including one edge remote from said free end of said panel adapted to underlie said table portion and extend at least to the approximate center thereof when the free end of said panel is swung down below the undersurface of said table portion and said tab is under said table portion, the portions of said elongated panel and said side tab intermediate the opposite ends thereof, when said panel and tab are disposed at generally right angles to each other, being of a size adapted to be grasped and encircled by the hand of a person, and said table portion, from the edge portion adjacent said elongated panel to the remote edge portion of said table portion being of a dimension considerably greater than the maximum crosssectional area of said handle portion defined by said portions of said elongated panel and side tab.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said one edge of said tab is substantially straight throughout the major portion of its length and the undersurfaces of said table portion is substantially planar for surface to surface contacting engagement with the straight portion of said one edge.

3. The combination of claim 1 including a projection on said one edge of said tab, said table portion having a slot form therethrough in which said projection is receivable.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said one edge of said tab is substantially straight throughout the major portion of its length and the undersurface of said table portion is substantially planar for surface to surface contacting engagment with the straight portion of said one edge, and a projection on said one edge of said tab, said table portion having a slot formed therethrough in which said projection is receivable.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein each longitudinal side edge portion of said panel has one of said side tabs hingedly secured thereto.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said one edge of each of said tabs is substantially straight throughout the major portion of its length and the undersurface of said table portion is substantially planar for surface to surface contacting engagement with the straight portions of said one edges of said tabs.

7. The combination of claim 6 including a projection on each of said one edge of said tabs, said table portion having a slot formed therein for each of said projections in which said projections are receivable.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said slots generally parallel each other and are spaced laterally apart a distance substantially equal to the distance between the ends of said tabs adjacent said table portion.

9. The combination of claim 1 wherein said table portion is substantially circular in plan and the longitudinal axis of said panel substantially coincides with a radius of said table portion.

10. The combination of claim 9 wherein each longitudinal side edge portion of said panel has one of said side tabs hingedly secured thereto, said one edges of said tabs being greater in length than the radius of said table portion.

11. The combination of claim 1 wherein said table and panel portions and said tabs are formed as component parts of a single panel.

Berkowitz Jan. 29, 1935 Tyson July 4, 1950 

1. A SUPPORT FOR SUPPORTING ARTICLES TO BE CARRIED, SAID SUPPORT COMPRISING A BLANK HAVING UPPER AND LOWER SURFACES INCLUDING A SUPPORTING TABLE PORTION AND A HANDLE PORTION, SAID HANDLE PORTION COMPRISING AN ELONGATED PANEL HINGEDLY SECURED AT ONE END TO ONE MARGINAL EDGE PORTION OF SAID TABLE PORTION FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT OF THE FREE END OF SAID PANEL ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID ONE END, AT LEAST ONE ELONGATED LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SIDE TAB CARRIED BY AND HINGEDLY SECURED ALONG ONE MARGINAL EDGE PORTION THEREOF TO ONE SIDE EDGE PORTION OF SAID PANEL FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT OF THE FREE EDGE OF SAID TAB ABOUT AN AXIS GENERALLY PARALLELING THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID PANEL, THE END OF SAID TAB ADJACENT SAID TABLE PORTION INCLUDING A LATERALLY DIRECTED END PORTION EXTENDING AWAY FROM SAID PANEL AND INCLUDING ONE EDGE REMOTE FROM SAID FREE END OF SAID PANEL ADAPTED TO UNDERLIE SAID TABLE PORTION AND EXTEND AT LEAST TO THE APPROXIMATE CENTER THEREOF WHEN THE FREE END OF SAID PANEL IS SWUNG DOWN BELOW THE UNDERSURFACE OF SAID TABLE PORTION AND SAID TAB IS UNDER SAID TABLE PORTION, THE PORTIONS OF SAID ELONGATED PANEL AND SAID SIDE TAB INTERMEDIATE THE OPPOSITE ENDS THEREOF, WHEN SAID PANEL AND TAB ARE DISPOSED AT GENERALLY RIGHT ANGLES TO EACH OTHER, BEING OF A SIZE ADAPTED TO BE GRASPED AND ENCIRCLED BY THE HAND OF A PERSON, AND SAID TABLE PORTION, FROM THE EDGE PORTION ADJACENT SAID ELONGATED PANEL TO THE REMOTE EDGE PORTION OF SAID TABLE PORTION BEING OF A DIMENSION CONSIDERABLY GREATER THAN THE MAXIMUM CROSSSECTIONAL AREA OF SAID HANDLE PORTION DEFINED BY SAID PORTIONS OF SAID ELONGATED PANEL AND SIDE TAB. 